Year One: Upside Down and Inside Out
by AkiraAtzapa
Summary: Ryan Harmon is a typical 11-year-old girl. She doesn't make her bed, she has to be told to eat her vegetables, and she'd rather play outside than do her homework. Oh, and she's a witch studying at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
1. Nonsense and Magical Things

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone! I'm not going to talk too much here. I just wanted to give everyone a little bit of background on this story.

I have previously posted this to FanFiction. I had seven chapters up and an eighth chapter being prepared when I just got really overwhelmed so I stopped writing it and I took it down. Recently though, I decided I would return to this site and rewrite what I had already written for my HP fanfic and repost it. So that's what I'm doing. Any writing can help; plus this is fun.

The premise of my story has changed a bit. I'm no longer rewriting them so that everything's different and crazy; I'm rewriting the HP story but with another main character. So basically, the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione becomes a quartet.

So yeah. I think that's all I have to say for now.

Happy reading!

* * *

**Chapter One****: A Whole Mess of Nonsense and Magical Things**

I clicked my pen, tapped my foot, gnawed on a pencil, and spun around in my chair until I got dizzy.

WHERE WAS MY LETTER?

I spun around a few more times before getting up and staggering a bit to my bedroom door. I regained control of my balance and ran downstairs where I bounced up and down on the couch while looking anxiously out the window.

_The letter should be here by now._ When things weren't on time, I turned into an anxious, worried mess.

I paced back and forth in the hallway, tapping the doors to the bathroom and to the basement each time I passed. "Sweetheart, calm down. The letter will be here any minute now," my mother told me as she came out of the kitchen. "You can't expect everything to be precisely on time. The owl is flying all the way from England."

"That's what you said _six_ minutes ago!" I wailed. "What if I don't get in? What if I end up a failure? What if the letter never comes? What if I don't—"

"Calm down!" my older brother yelled from upstairs.

"Shut up!" I yelled back.

What was I waiting for exactly? And who am I? I can only imagine that you're wondering something along those lines.

Hi. My name is Ryan. Why my parents decided to give me a _boy's_ name, I'll never know. (Well, they said they didn't want to give me a boring name. But really? A _boy's_ name? Sheesh.) I just turned 11 years old but everyone says I am way more mature than most people my age. I suppose it's true. I'm pretty smart and level-headed, and I've led a mostly normal life (you know, outings with the family, scraps with my older brother, getting yelled at for having a messy room) until I found out that I'm a witch.

Yes, you did read that correctly. I am a witch. No. Not a bitch, though I can act like one if the occasion calls for it.

My parents apparently knew I would end up like this all along, so they already had a whole spiel prepared when I got a letter from the Salem Witches' Institute. I think they were disappointed, though, when I told them I was completely uninterested in attending that school.

I wanted to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Yes, I knew about that school, which means I must have known about my being a witch, yes? Yes and no.

I didn't know for sure that I was a witch. But like I said, I was relatively smart, and I tend to notice when strange things happen (for example, I knocked my mom's favorite lamp off the table and when I went to catch it, it turned into a teddy bear. Strange? I thought it was).

So being the nosy little girl that I was, I went onto my parents' computer and did some research. And lo and behold, I found a folder all about the Salem Witches' Institute, and another one about Hogwarts. My dad wanted me to have a choice, but my mom wanted me to go to the Salem school, because it was closer to home.

Well, when the letter from Salem arrived, I announced that I would rather go to Hogwarts. It seemed like a much better school, not to mention safer. (Hello, Salem witch trials anyone?)

After a little discussion, my parents agreed. We sent a letter off to Hogwarts, and that brings us to today. The day where I should have already received their verdict.

I was sitting on the couch, my face becoming more and more dejected as the minutes passed and there was still no sign of an owl. I sighed and twisted to crack my back. I screamed, my back cracked, and I jumped up and pointed out the window. A handsome tawny owl was flying towards our house.

My mother hurried over to the window and opened it. The owl flew in, landed gracefully on our piano (my mom insisted on putting me through lessons), and stuck out its leg, where an envelope addressed to me in emerald ink was attached.

My hands were shaking as I tried to remove it. After a minute or so, and much shaking of the owl, which left it slightly disgruntled, I had the letter in my hands.

I opened it, thinking the worst (I was a pessimist by nature), and then scanned the contents quickly.

I screamed, threw the letter and the envelope in the air, and started dancing around the room.

"I'm going to Hogwarts, I'm going to Hogwarts!" I shrieked with delight as I bounced from one couch to the other.

My brother had come downstairs, being curious as to why I was screaming. (He's not a wizard, for those who are wondering.) My mom picked the letter up off the floor and read it out loud.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL_  
of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Harmon,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on September 1.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,_  
Deputy Headmistress_

* * *

So you know how, in the movies, when the directors don't want to make you sit through all the boring stuff about how a character got from one place to the next? They just kinda fade out and fade back in and the character is in a new place.

So.

Ryan is jumping around, happy, in her house in New Jersey.

Fade out.

Fade in.

Ryan is wandering around lost in London. Yes, on my own. My parents are the type that believes in learning through experience. They also trust me, since I've never given them any reason to believe that I would purposely get into trouble. (What they don't know won't hurt them.)

So here I was, wandering around London, looking for a place called the Leaky Cauldron. That's where my dad had told me to go, and apparently it was a place only wizards and witches could see. But since I couldn't find it, I was having serious doubts about my witchness. And since Muggles couldn't see it, I couldn't very well ask someone to point me in the right direction.

I hitched my backpack over one shoulder and dragged my wheeled suitcase along behind me. I looked—and felt—like such a tourist.

It took about another twenty minutes of wandering until I stumbled upon the famed Leaky Cauldron. Though, looking at it, I couldn't really imagine why it was so famous. It looked kind of grimy and rundown and not very inviting.

But it was the only Leaky Cauldron I had found, and it did seem like everyone walking around me couldn't see it, so I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and strode inside like I knew what I was doing.

It was dark and shabby, and there were only a few people inside. They looked up when I walked in and then returned to their drinks.

I peered around to see if I could pick out the bartender. I picked out a man who looked like he was and went and asked in a quiet voice, "Do you have any available rooms?"

He eyeballed me while wiping a glass with a rag. "Got a couple. You interested?" he asked, still staring.

_No, I was just asking for my health._ "Yes," I squeaked.

"Follow me, then," someone said behind me. I jumped and turned around, cracking my elbow against the counter.

"O-o-okay," I stammered, grabbing my backpack. This man took hold of my suitcase and led me up a wooden staircase. He brought me to a door with a brass number 14, unlocked it, and then left me alone.

I went in to see a comfortable looking bed, some oak furniture, and a crackling fire. I smiled, dragged my bags inside, and jumped on the bed. I pressed my face into the pillow. I reached into my pocket for my cell phone before realizing that I didn't have it, because my mom had told me it wouldn't work in the wizarding world. (I know what you're thinking. An 11-year-old with a cell phone? WHAT!?)

I sighed, cuddled up with the pillow, and drifted off rather quickly.

* * *

I woke up to the sun glaring into my eyes and a terribly stiff neck. I was curled up into a ball, the pillow on the floor and the blankets strewn all around me. I sat up, yawned, stretched, and winced. I got off the bed and went to wash up and change.

Approximately fifteen or so minutes later, I skipped down the stairs and approached the bartender with a little more confidence this time. "Excuse me," I said. "How do I get to Diagon Alley?"

The small bit of confidence I had faded as I heard someone snort behind me. I turned around to see a boy with red hair and lots of freckles. "Ronald, don't be rude," a woman who appeared to be his mother said to him. She turned to me, smiling, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Ryan," I said, some of my previous confidence coming back.

"That's a boy's name," said Ronald.

"Ron, shut up," a redheaded girl said. "I'm Ginny. Ginny Weasley Nice to meet you."

"Thanks," I said a little awkwardly. "Soooo, I need to get my supplies and stuff...do you mind showing me where Diagon Alley is?"

"Not at all," Mrs. Weasley said. "Right this way."

She led the way to a brick wall where she tapped several stones and then...

Diagon Alley!

I walked through the opening with my mouth hanging open, gaping at everything. There were dozens—hundreds!—of witches and wizards coming in and out of shops. The shops! It was way cooler than I ever thought I would be.

Outside the nearest shop were cauldrons of all shapes and sizes. I walked along, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open, trying to take everything in all at once. I walked by an Apothecary, a shop called Eeylops Owl Emporium, a robe shop, and a shop with telescopes and other strange items.

I tripped a couple times while trying to look at everything at the same time. I'd left the Weasley behind, but I appeased my guilty conscience a little by thinking that I had never agreed to walk around with them. I'd only asked them for directions.

My guilt was completely forgotten as I walked up the white stone steps of a large white building. I walked up to the doors and a small creature that looked like a goblin or something opened them. I went inside and was greeted by another pair of doors with words engraved on them.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._

_I'll keep that in mind, then,_ I thought as I walked inside to see more of the strange creatures there like the one that had opened the door for me. I walked slowly across the marble floor, my sneakers making virtually no sound. The goblin-creatures were ignoring me anyway. I stopped when I reached the counter. A particularly nasty looking goblin peered down at me, seemed to sneer, and then said, "Key?"

I dug around in my pockets for the little golden key that had magically appeared in my room one night. (I'm lying. It came in an envelope from another owl after my parents had set up this whole vault thing here at Gringotts.)

The goblin took it and looked at it before telling me, "I will have another goblin escort you to your vault."

"Um...thanks," I managed to say before another goblin came up and said, "Follow."

I obeyed and after into this rickety looking cart and going on the most brain-rattling ride I had ever been on through twisting passageways, it stopped.

Thank god, because I was ready to puke. The goblin opened the door we had stopped beside and my eyes nearly popped out onto the floor. "Holy crap," I breathed as I looked at the piles of bronze, silver, and golden coins. I took a bag and shoveled some money into it.

I took one last, awed glance at my vault before the goblin shut the door and we climbed back into the cart for another wild and rickety ride to street level.

I left Gringotts in a pleasant mood and pulled out my supply list, prepared to get myself lost while shopping for all I needed.

* * *

My arms were loaded down with bulky packages and the like after about two hours of me running around trying to find shops, and then once in the shop, trying to find the right items I needed. I had gotten almost everything on my list, except a wand. And I wanted an owl; my parents had told me to get one, so I could communicate with them fairly regularly.

I went back to the Leaky Cauldron and dropped all my packages in messy disarray on the bed and then returned to Diagon Alley to find Ollivanders.

I skipped inside the shop to see an old man pulling down thin boxes from creaky shelves. "Hello," I said.

"Come to get your wand?" he asked briskly, climbing down the ladder he was standing on.

I was taken aback. He was pretty energetic for someone so old. "Yeah."

"Hold out your wand arm." Would that be my right arm? I'm right handed. Well, that's the arm I stuck out.

Mr. Ollivander—as I learned that was his name—whipped out a tape measure and measured my arm. Shoulder to finger. Wrist to elbow. Shoulder to floor.

He disappeared. The tape measure continued measuring. I could hear him moving around the shelves, pulling out and putting away boxes.

_What is the significance of measuring the distance between my eyes?_ I wondered as I watched the tape measure with interest. "That's enough," Mr. Ollivander commanded as he came back with several thin boxes. The tape measure stopped and fell to the floor in a crumpled little pile. "Try this one." He handed me a wand.

I took it from him eagerly and waved it around in the air. One of the legs on the table in the room disappeared and the whole thing fell over. My eyes widened as I dropped the wand. "Um..."

Mr. Ollivander just waved his hand and handed me another one. This one was longer and swishier. I waved it somewhat hesitantly this time.

The chair behind me exploded. I shrieked and practically threw the wand away from me.

"Quite destructive, aren't you?" Mr. Ollivander muttered.

"I'm sorry!" I cried.

He just handed me another wand. I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers, and waved it. Silence. I cracked my eyes open. "Did I destroy anything?" I asked hopefully.

There was a creaking sound...and then...one of the shelves toppled over. Mr. Ollivander sighed and waved his own wand. His shop returned to its pre-destroyed-by-Ryan state. "Let's try another one, shall we?" he said quietly, staring at me like I was destroying his shop on purpose. He handed me a fourth wand.

This one felt...I dunno...more solid? It felt _right_, I guess...if that doesn't sound too weird. Hesitantly, and yet more confident that I wouldn't destroy anything, I waved it through the air, expecting a bear to come bursting through the wall.

No bear. But the air became warmer and the lights grew brighter and a small fog swirled around my feet. "HOLY CRAP!" I yelled, dropping the wand.

"The wand chooses the wizard," Mr. Ollivander said. He sounded excited I picked up the wand and he put it back in its thin, velvet-lined box. I paid and then left the store, feeling a little worn out after that oddly destructive experience.

* * *

It was still bright out. I looked around and spotted a clock. But before the time could actually process in my brain, someone bumped into me and I fell, not having the greatest sense of balance in the world.

"Hey!" I shouted as I rubbed my sore back and sore elbow and sore hip and sore rest-of-my-body. Stupid cobblestones.

The person that had knocked me over was now scrambling about, picking up books that had fallen. It was a girl with extremely frizzy and curly hair, and front teeth that were rather on the large side.

"I'm sorry!" she said.

"Yeah, me too," I said distractedly while wondering why she had so many books. _Were there that many books on the supply list?_

"So...I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."

_What kind of name is Hermione?_ "I'm Ryan. Ryan Harmon," I said. _Well, I guess I can't talk. I do have a boy's name._ "Uhh...were there actually that many books on the supply list?"

"Oh, no," she said. "I just got some extras for some light reading."

One of the books was the size of a dictionary. A really big dictionary. The kind with, like, every word in the English language in it and then some. "Anyway, I expect I'll see you on the train to Hogwarts," Hermione said cheerfully.

Then she left, heading towards Flourish and Blotts. "As if she needs any more books," I muttered.

* * *

**End:** I don't really have all that much to say here; hopefully you enjoyed it and chapter two should be on its way shortly. If you don't mind, please review my story. And I don't mean just leave a nice or a nasty comment; critique is always welcomed.

I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors that there may be. I do read the chapters over and edit them, but I'm only human so I won't catch everything.

Until next time~


	2. Where'd Trevor Go?

**Author's Note:** I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the first one, but I'm trying to keep things together. Like, in the first chapter, it was all pre-Hogwarts Express. This chapter is the journey there. And so on and so forth.

Again, not much to say here except I love reviews and critiques and comments!

Happy reading!

* * *

**Chapter Two****: Where'd Trevor Go!?  
**

I rolled my trolley around in circles, wondering where in the world Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters was located. People were giving me the oddest looks, probably because I'd been walking around the station for ten minutes now with a trunk full of magical objects (not that they knew that), another bag, and an owl.

I sighed and set off on my seventh trip around the station, looking for...

What was I looking for?

A giant flashing arrow pointing me in the right direction would be nice.

Then I spotted a boy with blond hair pushing a trolley with a trunk and an owl on it. It wasn't an arrow, exactly, but I decided to follow him anyway.

I hummed the Mission Impossible theme song as I weaved in and out of the crowd, trying not to lose sight of the boy.

He wheeled his trolley between platforms nine and ten, ran at the barrier and then...disappeared.

My eyes widened and I hurried forward a few steps to make sure he hadn't tripped or something and gone flying into the barrier and was lying on the ground in pain and bleeding and mortally injured or something.

Nothing. Not a trace. Not even some bloodstains.

I pushed my trolley against the barrier gently and leaped backwards as it sunk in. I looked around. No one seemed to notice.

Hesitantly, I took hold of my trolley and pushed harder. The trolley, and then me, went through the barrier-gate-thing.

And there in front of me was a train bearing the words "Hogwarts Express."

My mouth fell open in shock as I wheeled my trolley around.

My eyes fell upon a giant clock that read "10:49." I had about ten minutes to get myself situated on the train.

I put my trunk and other things in a carriage and then set off to find an empty compartment. I soon found one near the end of the train and sat down, putting my feet up on the seat.

The compartment door slid open and I looked up to see the girl with the frizzy hair and a dorky looking, kinda chubby boy holding a toad. "Hi?" I said.

"Do you mind if we sit with you?" Hermione asked, smiling. "This is Neville, by the way."

"Sure. Sit."

They sat.

It was silent.

An overbearingly awkward silence.

I twiddled my thumbs, kicked my heels against the seat, looked out the window, and then looked out the door where people were walking past, some calling to others, some just looking for an empty compartment.

"Sooo," I said, deciding that this silence needed to be broken. "What was your reaction when you found out about your magical powers?"

"Oh, I was ever so pleased when I found out," Hermione explained, smiling again. "No one else in my family is a witch or wizard, so it was a wonderful surprise."

Neville stuttered something and I managed to pick out the word "pureblood."

"So your whole family has been witches and wizards?" I asked, just to clarify.

He nodded.

And it was silent again.

* * *

I had resorted to twiddling my thumbs again to pass the time while Neville stared out the window and Hermione babbled on about one thing or another that she had read in some book. "...think, Ryan?" I gazed out the window, wondering if we were anywhere near Hogwarts yet. "Ryan?"

I snapped out of my trance and said, "What?"

"I asked you," Hermione repeated, "what you were looking forward to most."

"Oh," I said, still a little out of it. "A nap, I guess."

Neville managed to crack a smile while Hermione stared frostily at me. "I meant, like, what class," she stated.

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" I said, laughing a little. She retained the frosty look. "Transfiguration."

"Really?" she asked. The frosty look on her face thawed a little but she still wasn't smiling.

"Yup. I kind of have a knack for it."

"I hear transfiguration's really hard though," she said.

"So? My mom always told me I would be good at transfiguration," I said. "She was probably referring to one of the many times when I knocked over the lamp in the hallway. One time, I tried to catch it and it turned into a pillow." I laughed a little bit as I remembered the look of shock on my mom's face and my own astonishment.

"So is your mom a witch?"

"Nope."

"Your dad?"

"Nope."

"What?"

"My grandma is," I explained. "And a fair number of my other relatives. Not my parents though."

"I see." The compartment fell silent once again. After a short period of time, Hermione pulled out a very thick book and began reading. Neville fell asleep. I stared out the window for a while and then watched Hermione's eyes zoom back and forth across the pages of the book. My attention then turned to the toad Neville was holding. When he had fallen asleep his grip on the toad (I couldn't remember what its name was. Something with a T. Timmy? Tyler? Theodore?) had slackened and Timmy/Tyler/Theodore obviously saw this as an opportune moment for escape. It was slowly worming its way out of Neville's chubby hands.

It had succeeded in freeing itself and I was just about to stand up and hold onto it for him when the door slammed open and Timmy/Tyler/Theodore bolted out the door and down the aisle. Neville fell out of his chair and Hermione slammed her book shut as three boys stood in the doorway. One boy had sleek blond hair that was plastered to his head. He looked vaguely familiar.

The other two...boys, for lack of a better word (overgrown gorillas was more like it) were hulking and stood on either side of the blonde boy like bodyguards.

"Can we help you?" Hermione asked icily. God, she could be nasty when she really wanted to be.

"Just dropping in to see who was here," the blonde boy said. OH! He was the one I had followed onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. Any merit points he had earned for leading me in the right direction vanished as he sneered at us.

"Well, you can leave now," I said, smiling sweetly.

He looked at me. "You don't seem like too much of a loser like these two," he said, jerking his head at Hermione, who was clutching her book but still glaring, and Neville, who was just sitting there with his mouth open, looking slightly afraid. "How about you come hang out with us? I'll introduce you to the right people."

"I'll introduce you to my fist if you don't shut up and leave," I snapped, reaching for my wand.

"You really don't want to associate with people like them," he said. "By the way, my name is Draco. Draco Malfoy. You'll want to remember it. And remember what I said."

"I'll take my chances with them," I said, jerking my thumb at Hermione and Neville.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind," Draco Malfoy said, smirking. "See you at school." He and his two gorillas left our compartment.

"Wow, Ryan," Neville said. "Did you really mean that?"

"Mean what?" I asked distractedly as I peered down the hallway. "Did you know your toad escaped?"

"What? Where'd Trevor go?" Neville started panicking and looking through the compartment. "Trevor!"

I sighed and said, "Trevor disappeared down thataway."

Neville bolted out of our compartment and in the direction I had pointed. Hermione and I exchanged a look. "We should go with him," she said briskly, setting her book down and standing up. "I think we're close; we should change into our robes first."

_Good idea_, I thought as I pulled out my own uniform and robe. We changed quickly and set off after Neville. We could see him stopping every so often and peering inconspicuously into peoples' compartments. When we caught up to him, I said, "You're never gonna find your damn toad if you don't actually go into a compartment and ask if they've seen him." To prove my point, I opened the door to a random compartment and barged in, saying loudly, "Neville lost his toad, have you seen it?" Two boys looked up. One of them had flaming red hair, and I recognized him as Ronald Weasley, the rude boy I had met in the Leaky Cauldron. His cheeks were bulging and he was holding a Chocolate Frog box, whatever those were. I had completely disregarded the trolley that had rolled around earlier.

The other boy had messy jet-black hair, bright green eyes and broken glasses. They just stared at us.

"So have you seen a toad or what?"

Hermione and Neville had followed me into the compartment. Hermione, of course, being ever-so-practical, spied Ron's wand in his hand and apparently completely forgot about Neville's toad. "Were you going to do a spell?" she asked. "Let's see it then."

Ron coughed, cleared his throat, waved his wand and said:

"_Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow;_

_Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!"_

There was a spark at the end of his wand. His rat didn't turn yellow but it did squeak in surprise and choke on a jelly bean it had been eating. "Animal killer," I said.

"I've tried a few simple spells already and they've all worked for me," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Here. For example." She sat down across from the boy with black hair and said some mysterious words I couldn't really catch, but apparently it was a real spell because she fixed his glasses.

The boy looked amazed when he saw his glasses were no longer broken. He pulled them off his face and stared at them as if his glasses not being broken was the eighth wonder of the world. I rolled my eyes and said, "What's your name?"

Hermione gasped and said, "You're _Harry Potter!_" She looked astounded.

"Huh?" was my intelligent reply.

"Harry Potter!" she repeated. "The boy who lived!"

"So? What about it? I'm alive too." I didn't get it. Of course, I was the foreigner here, unaware of what was going on in the wizarding world. (Call me clueless.)

"He's the only boy to have ever survived the killing curse. He survived when You-Know-Who wanted him dead. _And_ he somehow defeated You-Know-Who. The entire wizarding world knows his name!" Hermione explained.

"The entire wizarding world minus me," I said. "Who's You-Know-Who?"

"Did you read anything before today?" Hermione asked.

"Nope!"

She sighed.

* * *

The rest of our trip to Hogwarts was relatively peaceful. Hermione, Neville and I left Harry and Ron to stuff their faces with Chocolate Frogs and toxic jelly beans or whatever. We found Trevor and Neville kept a tight hold of him the entire time. (I could've sworn Trevor was turning blue from a lack of air but that could've just been my eyes playing tricks on me.)

When we arrived an extremely large man with a bush on his head met us on the platform. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" His voice was loud and booming.

We traveled across a dark lake on some rickety boats before we finally reached Hogwarts. I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face as I looked up at the vast castle and its many turrets and towers. Lights sparkled in the windows; stars glittered in the sky—it made for a magnificent sight.

I was finally here!

* * *

**End:** Aaannndd that was chapter two, all! Hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you'll leave a review in some shape or form. I'm not saying you HAVE to review it, just that I like to see feedback, so I know what's good or what's not and what I can improve on.

Until next time~


	3. Hats and Lessons

**Author's Note:** This is where I diverge from the original story I had. Instead of changing things like I was originally going to, I'm going to follow the events of the story. But everything's from Ryan's POV.

Right. That's about all I have to say. Except, you know, I love critiques. Hint. Hint. Review por favor!

Oh and there are a few parts that I just took directly from the book. Mainly it's the part with the Sorting Hat. Just letting you know.

Happy reading!

* * *

**Chapter Three****: Hats and Flying Lessons**

I skipped up the stone steps ahead of all my classmates and waited eagerly for someone to open the doors because there was a butterfly's chance in hell I would be able to pry open the massive doors by myself. The giant man with the bush on his face knocked on the door three times (if he'd knocked on the front door at my house like that, there wouldn't be a door left). The doors swung open by themselves and we were met by a tall witch with black hair and wearing emerald-green robes. Her face was very stern. _Hmm...I have a strange feeling that I'd get in trouble if I broke a rule around her_, I thought as we all crowded into the entrance hall. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the giant man.

"Thank you Hagrid," she said. Oh. So that was his name.

We all followed Professor McGonagall across the hall and into a small chamber. I nearly flipped out. _Oh my god! A small chamber! She's gonna kill us all! I knew I shouldn't have come here! Oh my god! This is like those Saw movies! I'M GONNA DIE._ My head whipped around, looking for an exit. Everyone crowded in, standing close together. I distanced myself slightly, wanting to have more room to defend myself if ninjas suddenly appeared and attacked.

But no. No. I was wrong.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house..." My eyes slid out of focus. Whatever she was saying now was just a buzzing in my ear and I let my attention wander. My eyes slid from one student to the next. I watched Neville squeezing Trevor tightly; I watched in amusement as Ron tried to rub some dirt off his nose; Draco Malfoy, the rude and egotistical, was whispering to his gorilla cronies.

Well, Professor McGonagall had apparently finished talking because she left us in the room by ourselves. Everyone started talking to each other. "What did I miss?" I asked Hermione. "I tuned out after she told us what the houses were."

"We can earn and lose points for our houses, and whoever has the most points at the end of the year wins the House Cup," Hermione said. "Are you going to pay attention in classes at least?"

"Thanks, and maybe." I grinned.

"How do we get sorted?" I heard Harry ask Ron.

"Some sort of test." Great. A test.

Nobody was talking anymore; everyone seemed too nervous—except Hermione. She was whispering very fast to anyone who would listen about any and all the spells she'd learned and might need to pass the "test."

I sighed. A few moments passed by and then...

Several people screamed and some jumped a couple feet into the air as maybe twenty or so ghosts streamed through the wall. "Whooooaaa!" I exclaimed over the screams. "That's so cool!" A couple of people looked at me as if I was on crack. "What?" I said defensively.

Professor McGonagall returned and said, "Please follow me."

She led us out of the small chamber and back into the entrance hall and then through a set of doors and into a great big room packed with people. There were four long tables crowded with students. There was another table, perpendicular to the four I just mentioned, that I assumed the teachers were sitting at. We walked down to the front, where we all crowded together, preparing ourselves for the worst.

Professor McGonagall set a stool down and put an extremely battered and worn-out hat down on it. Did we have to pull something out of the hat? I stared at the object curiously, as was everyone else. Then, all of a sudden, a rip near the brim of the hat opened wide and it started singing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,__  
But don't judge on what you see,  
__I'll eat myself if you can find  
__A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Everyone started applauding when the hat finished. "When I call your name," Professor McGonagall said, "you will come up here, sit down, and place the Sorting Hat on your head."

She unrolled a long scroll of parchment and I felt my eyes glaze over as she worked her way through the A's and the B's. I started looking around and watching other students. As Professor McGonagall reached the E's, I started rocking back and forth on my feet and stared up at the ceiling. "Hermione!" I whispered. "What's up with the ceiling? It doesn't look like one."

She whispered back, "It's enchanted to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

"You've already read the textbooks?" I asked incredulously.

"Read and memorized," she said.

"Maybe I should do that too," I said thoughtfully.

She looked appalled at the fact that I hadn't yet opened a textbook and swallowed all the information inside of it. "Hey, she's up to the G's!" I said quietly. "It's almost my turn."

Hermione looked as if she was going to say something, but then Professor McGonagall called, "Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione ran forward eagerly and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. It took a few moments, but the hat finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Hermione looked happy and ran off to the Gryffindor table, which was cheering. As she sat down, Professor McGonagall said, "Harmon, Ryan!"

_I hate my name,_ I thought mutinously as I skipped forward. At the wide eyes and looks of disbelief, I took it to be that everyone thought I was a boy. Oh well. The hat was placed on my head and it slipped over my eyes so all I saw was black.

"Hmm..." a little voice muttered in my ear. I started as I realized the hat was speaking to me.

"Hmm...very smart, very smart indeed. Brave too...a little headstrong, I see. Stubborn too." The hat fell silent for a few seconds. "Hmm... Very loyal... Well...this is fairly difficult."

I started to swing my legs back and forth and kicked my heels against the legs of the stool. I wished this hat would hurry it up. I was hungry. "Impatient, are we?" The hat chuckled. The _hat_ laughed at me. This was a new low. "You would be great in..." It paused for the briefest of seconds before shouting so the world could hear, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was taken off my head and I couldn't help but think _good riddance_ as I skipped (yes, I do like to skip) over to the table Hermione had just sat down at. I slid into the seat next to her and grinned as several people welcomed me, including a couple of boys with flaming red hair who looked as if they were related to Ron. One of them was wearing horn-rimmed glasses and the other two were twins.

I watched as the crowd of my fellow first years dwindled slowly. After watching "Malfoy-the-butthead, Draco" get sorted into Slytherin, I turned my attention to the sparkling golden plates in front of me.

Sparkling, golden, devoid-of-food plates.

I pouted and poked my plate with a starved finger. (Okay, so I tend to exaggerate.) I picked the plate up and examined it closely. "Ryan!" Hermione hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Checking the golden plate for magical properties," I replied as I squinted at said plate.

"What?"

"I'm hungry!"

"How can you think of food at an exciting time like thi—"

"Potter, Harry!" Everyone fell silent as Harry Potter's name was announced. He stepped forward nervously and the hat was placed on his head.

Everyone was watching intently—I had even stopped my examination of the plate, though I was still holding it up. I lowered it slowly to the table as the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The table I was sitting at seemed to explode with sound. My hair felt like it was standing on end as I clapped my hands over my ears. The red-haired twins were chanting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Everyone was trying to reach over and shake Harry's hand as he approached an empty seat.

He sat across from Hermione and me. I wiggled my ears at him (special talent; yes, I'm proud of it) and shouted, "What's up?" He still couldn't hear me over everyone cheering. Even if he had heard me he probably wouldn't have been able to answer, seeing as how everyone was falling over themselves to shake his hand or get an autograph, or, I don't know, steal his hair and worship it. Like ZOMG!

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the Sorting Hat. Ron was up. _Please don't end up in Gryffindor; please don't end up in—_ "GRYFFINDOR!" _Damn it._

He sat down next to Harry, and then the last boy was sorted into Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll and took away the obnoxious hat.

The man with the silver hair sitting in a large gold chair in the center of the table of teachers stood up and spread his arms wide. Whatever he said flew in one ear and out the other, because, to be quite frank, I WAS STARVING.

My priorities are quite in order, thank you.

My eyes widened with glee as the golden plates were suddenly filled with food. I began vacuuming everything down within reach.

Whatever took place during dinner was a blur, as I was so happy that there was food, I tuned mostly everything else out.

Finally, dinner and dessert was done, and I was full and satisfied. Professor Dumbledore (Hermione told me that was his name) stood up again, and everyone fell silent. He gave us a few start-of-term notices, which includes but isn't limited to not being allowed to into the Forbidden Forest, not being allowed to curse people in the hallways, and not being allowed to go onto the right-hand side of the third floor corridor because we'd die.

* * *

I learned a lot of stuff during my first few weeks at Hogwarts.

First of all, one hundred and forty-two is a big number. Second of all, I hate stairs. Put those two things together, and I found myself wishing I could poof an elevator into existence. Or at least a few escalators. Seriously, 142 staircases is a lot. And then there were vanishing steps, staircases that wouldn't stay put, and ARGH. Already, on my second day, I managed to trip gracefully up the stairs when it started moving and tumbled down to come to halt in a jumbled heap of books, papers, and quills in front of Malfoy.

He laughed, of course. What else would he do, help me up?

Hah.

So the next time I saw him, I accidentally (I use that word lightly) dropped my bag of books on his back and got his foot stuck in one of the trick steps. Highly amusing. At least to me.

And of course, you can imagine, with 142 staircases, that this castle was pretty big. I managed to get lost at least three times just going down to breakfast from the dorm room. (It was mostly thanks to Hermione that I made it to all my classes on time.) Well, at least I knew where NOT to go.

Also, I vowed to learn where every one of the secret passageways in this school were.

It was going to be a fun year.

* * *

As for classes, well...

I found History of Magic to be the perfect class to get the sleep I didn't get the night before. Professor Binns was a ghost, and a pretty clueless one at that. He just kept on reading and reading and reading and reading and reading and reading and reading and reading and reading from his notes, and after I attempted to be attentive and take good notes for about ten minutes, I just let Hermione scribble down everything he was saying and dozed off. Or I played tic-tac-toe or hangman with Seamus Finnigan, who was just as attentive and diligent with his note-taking as I was.

Herbology was okay. Defense Against the Dark Arts was pretty cool.

I loved Transfiguration. For some weird reason, I was really good at it. I managed to shock everyone in my class right away by accidentally turning Hermione's quill into a snake. I honestly don't know how it happened. I was just waving my wand around listlessly and then it happened. Professor McGonagall had stared at me with her thin eyebrows raised high and Hermione gaped at me.

And while I didn't particularly get along well with Harry and Ron, I couldn't help but agree with Harry's assessment of Potions: worst class ever. In the first class—and of course, it had to be with the Slytherins—Snape attacked Harry with questions from the book, which Harry obviously didn't know the answers too. (Not that I should talk; I wouldn't have been able to answer the questions either.) Hermione, on the other hand, was practically leaping from her chair with the answer to the question ready to burst from her lips. But Snape, being the evil toad that he was, ignored her. He was quite a jerk.

The year was off to a pretty good start.

* * *

Hermione and I looked apprehensively at our—for lack of a better word—broomsticks. "Can you fly?" I asked her. This was the one thing I was completely unsure about. I wasn't really eager to make a fool of myself in front of everyone, including Malfoy, who was evil, and Ron, who liked to make fun of me.

Madame Hooch gave us our directions and I eyeballed my broomstick before saying in what I thought was a commanding voice: "Up!"

My broomstick didn't move. Neither did Hermione's. Harry's broom had jumped into his hand. What a show-off.

"Up!" I repeated. My broom twitched a little pathetically this time.

"Up!?" It rolled over.

"UP!" It flew into the air but my shock was so great I had to flail around to grab it. "Stupid broom," I muttered once I had it in my grip.

Finally, after everyone had managed to convince their broomsticks that it was safe to jump into their hands, Madame Hooch relayed more instructions. We all mounted our brooms awkwardly and waited for her to blow the whistle.

But even though she specifically told us to jump up at "1," Neville leaped into the air at "2." "NEVILLE YOU IDIOT SHE SAID AT '1' NOT '2'!" I shouted at him as he rose slowly up into the air. His broom started shaking and he started flopping back and forth.

See, I would've played the hero and saved him if, you know, I could fly. Which I couldn't. So what did I do? I ran around in circles under where Neville was floating in the air, shouting nonsense at him while the rest of the class panicked.

Neville didn't remain in the air for long; he came crashing down, narrowly missing me. He lay on the ground groaning in pain. Madame Hooch came running over and made the ultimate decision to take him to the hospital wing. "If I see a single broom in the air, the person on it will be expelled before they can say 'Quidditch,'" she warned us as she walked off with Neville.

"Hope he'll be okay," Hermione said. I nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Malfoy had decided to step forward and once again prove the extent of his buttheadedness. He was holding Neville's Remembrall that I vaguely remember him getting in the mail a couple days ago.

Harry had confronted Malfoy. "Give it back, Malfoy," he said.

"No," Malfoy said.

"I think you should give it back," I said evenly, standing next to Harry.

"No," he repeated, smirking. "I think I'll leave it for Longbottom to find somewhere. How about in a tree?"

He hopped on his broom and rose into the air. "YOU'RE NOT COOL, YOU KNOW!" I shouted at him.

Harry hopped on his broom and rose into the air, a little more shakily than Malfoy had. "Harry, have I ever told you you're an idiot?!" I yelled as he rose even with Malfoy.

I couldn't hear what was going on up there, but I started biting my nails. Then Malfoy threw the Remembrall and I swore at him and Harry took off after it. And...

He caught it.

Wow. "That was pretty impressive," I said to myself. Hermione looked at me. "What? He's still a show-off."

Still, I smirked inwardly when Professor McGonagall came and then took Harry back inside with her.

First flying lesson: success. (Successful in that I avoided having to do any flying.)

* * *

**End:** Right-o. Hope you enjoyed it, and I hope I will have the next chapter up within the next two weeks or so. Enjoy the lovely weather! If the weather isn't nice where you are, then pray for lovely weather!


	4. Ryan is Nosy

**Author's Note:** Here I am, groveling for your forgiveness. I can't even remember how long ago it was when I promised an update soon. But whatever. Let's put the past behind us. I am a changed person.

So no excuses. Here it is. Chapter four.

* * *

**Year One****: Upside Down and Inside Out**

**Chapter Four****: In Which Ryan Is Incredibly Nosy**

Why does it seem like famous people just get everything handed to them on a shining silver platter? I mean, take Harry Potter for example. He gets caught flying a broom even though he was told specifically not to, McGonagall catches him, I think he's going to get a nice heap of detention, but no. No. What does he get? HE GETS MADE SEEKER! Someone please explain that to me.

But let's get back to the more important things here. Food. It was dinnertime. And I was starting to think that all this delicious food was going to have an impact on my waistline. All my life (all eleven long years) I had been tiny for my age. Short and skinny. That's why I decided early on I had to be "a little fiery spitfuck" (those are my dad's loving words, not mine). I didn't want people to fawn over me because I was small and cute.

But all this food...man, I just can't stop loading second and third helpings onto my plate. As I was reaching for a third helping of steak and kidney pie (which, yes, I thought at first sounded absolutely disgusting, but was actually not), I saw Malfoy walking towards the Gryffindor table. I could only assume that he was going to confront Harry about the Remembrall incident.

Being the type of person I am to keep to myself, I turned slightly in my seat so I could eavesdrop, watch and still keep eating. I excel at multitasking.

Fred and George walked away from Harry and I watched them for a moment (so I found them attractive; what of it?) before bestowing all my listening power to Harry and Malfoy's conversation.

To be honest, I couldn't hear much, except when Ron started talking. "Of course he has. I'm his second, who's yours?"

_Second what?_ I wondered as Malfoy chose between Crabbe and Goyle. A few more moments passed and then the three Slytherin gits (I had started adopting some British slang into my vocabulary) walked away.

As much as I wanted to know what had just happened, I didn't want to give the two boys the satisfaction of knowing that I was interested in what they did. Hermione, however, thought differently, and marched right up to them.

Which, of course, gave me the perfect excuse to go right up next to her and listen in. She was my friend, after all, so it wouldn't seem weird that I was accompanying her to eavesdrop on a conversation.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying," she said to Harry.

"Bet you could," Ron muttered.

Hermione was good at ignoring him. I, however, shot a glare his way while she continued, "And you _mustn't _go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"Hey, if it were me, I'd go to kick Malfoy's ass. What did he challenge you to, anyway?" I asked eagerly.

"It's really none of your business," said Harry.

Jerk. I thought with that line I'd added about kicking Malfoy's ass, he'd divulge the information.

* * *

It was almost half-past eleven, and I was tossing and turning in my lovely four-poster bed. I had been trying to get to sleep for the past several hours, but being a bit of an insomniac and my curiosity as to what Harry and Ron and Malfoy were getting up to didn't help.

11:35. I sighed and rolled out of bed. I disregarded my bathrobe and slippers but grabbed my wand (it was slowly becoming instinct to just take my wand with me everywhere I went. Except, like, the shower.) and wandered down to the common room in my t-shirt and shorts, thinking that maybe sitting by the fireplace would help lull me into a slumber. I was just about to plop myself into a chair when I heard hushed voices hissing and the portrait of the Fat Lady opening and then clicking shut.

I stood there for a few moments, trying to imagine who was sneaking out this late. Hermione? She hadn't been upstairs in the dormitory when I was tossing and turning. But why would she leave?

It clicked. Forgetting my original plan to try and sleep, I raced over to the portrait and pushed it open quietly. I poked my head out to see Hermione, Harry and Ron at the end of the corridor. "Why didn't she tell me she was going with them?" I whispered. They disappeared around the corner and I ran as quietly as I could down the hallway so as not to lose them.

I slowed before I reached the corner. I peered around the corner surreptitiously. The three of them were standing still; I could hear a faint snuffling sort of noise. "Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron.

"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed." It was Neville. Of course. He would be the one to forget the password and lock himself out. I shook my head as Harry and Ron grudgingly agreed to let Neville accompany them as well.

I shivered as I followed them, wishing I had grabbed my bathrobe and my slippers. But I suppose I didn't think that I would end up running around the castle barefoot in my pajamas following four other first years that also weren't supposed to be out at this time. Weird how these things happen.

I padded up a staircase to the third floor after them and hid myself behind the door as the other four edged along the walls, looking for Malfoy. Ron whispered something and then there was a noise in the next room.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

It was Filch! I saw Harry wave at the other three and I jumped out from behind the door. I sure as hell didn't want to get caught; I was planning on making an early escape. Unfortunately, my presence startled Neville and Hermione. She gasped; he squeaked and ran...and then tripped and grabbed Ron and promptly knocked over a suit of armor.

There was no way Filch could not hear the clanging mingled with my swearing and Harry screaming at us to run.

So run we did. We sprinted recklessly; none of us knew where we were. We only stopped once we ended up by our Charms classroom.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the wall.

"What are YOU doing here?" Ron snarled, pointing a finger at me.

"Hey, I could ask you the same thing," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and staring right back at him.

"Ryan, why aren't—you—wearing shoes? Or a—bathrobe? Aren't—you cold?" Hermione asked, frowning and trying to catch her breath at the same time.

"Well, that's because I couldn't sleep and I went down to the common room to sit near the fireplace and then I heard you guys and curiosity got the better of me and I didn't want to lose you so I just took off after you and was following you this whole time," I explained.

"We told you guys this was none of your business!" Harry said.

"Oh shut up. It happened, now get over it," I said.

Ron gave me an exasperated glare and then said, "We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower as quickly as possible."

"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you—"

"Meet you for what?" I asked.

"A duel," said Harry. He looked a little relieved I had headed Hermione off in the middle of her lecture.

"Oh cool, you were going to duel him? That little prick. I'd love to kick his ass," I said vehemently, gripping my wand with unnecessary force.

Done chitchatting, the five of us moved towards the door. Our journey was impeded, however, by the one, the only...Peeves.

He cackled as Harry told him to shut up. We pleaded but Ron, ever the smart one, growled and swiped at Peeves, which led to:

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

And we found ourselves sprinting once again. "You know," I huffed as I ran, "I really don't like running."

We slammed into a door and tried opening it, only to find it locked.

"Crap, crap, crap," I muttered.

"This is it!" Ron moaned. "We're done for! This is the end!"

"Crap, crap, crap," I muttered, as the footsteps got closer. We were trapped. We were doomed. My parents would not appreciate me getting expelled after I had begged and pleaded and persuaded them to let me go here. "Oh!" I had an epiphany, apparently at the same time Hermione did. We turned on the lock and Alohomora-ed it open.

We all spilled inside, pulled the door shut after us, and pressed our ears against it to listen to Filch and Peeves argue.

Once they left, we all breathed sighs of relief. But it seemed that wherever we went, trouble liked to follow (or already be there waiting for us, in this case).

"Whoa, a three-headed dog!" I exclaimed. There was no way there would be anything like this at Salem. "This is awesome!"

The other four turned and looked at me with horrified expressions—horrified because of the dog or because of my reaction, I didn't know. "You guys have no sense of adventure," I said. Turning back to the dog, I held my hand out and clicked out my tongue. My dog always responded to that. "I wonder what its name is," I wondered, shuffling forward with my hand still held out. The dog snarled as I got closer. "Hey, it likes me!" I stepped forward again.

It growled and its drool dripped onto the floor. "ARE YOU CRAZY!" Ron shouted.

"Maybe just a little," I said, looking over my shoulder at the other four. They had backed up and were standing petrified against the wall.

The three-headed dog's growls grew in an echoing crescendo; Harry darted forward and seized my arm and pretty much dragged me to the door and out. The other three followed and slammed the door shut behind us.

The five of us ran back to Gryffindor tower. (Actually, the other four ran and I kind of stumbled along because Harry was still dragging me. It's like he thought I would go back and try to turn the three-headed pet into a dog or something.)

Once inside the common room we stood there and tried to catch our breath before the obvious occurred: we started talking about the dog.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally.

"To eat people who wander in forbidden hallways?" I suggested.

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" Hermione snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested.

"That's what I was going to say," I said.

"No, _not_ the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."

"Oh, cool! Let's go find out what!" I said excitedly.

"Way to go, now you're giving Nosy-And-Reckless new ideas to get us killed," Ron said.

"I'm sure you're not talking about me," I said, feigning ignorance. "Besides, who was it that was originally wandering around the hallways? Yeah, that's right."

"Well, you didn't have to follow us and almost get us killed," Ron snapped.

"Well, maybe four-eyes over there should have picked a different door for us to hide behind!" I said, jabbing an angry finger at Harry.

"Well, it was you two that unlocked it!" Ron jabbed an equally angry finger at Hermione and me.

Hermione interrupted before I could retaliate. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed – or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

Hermione disappeared up the stairs as Ron stared after her with his mouth open. "No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"

"If we hadn't come along, you two would never have gotten that door unlocked and would likely be serving a week's worth of detention," I said, seizing this new opportunity to retaliate.

Before he could respond, I turned on my bare heel and went upstairs.

I had no trouble falling asleep now.

* * *

Hermione and Neville were not at all interested in the three-headed dog. Ron and Harry were but my streak of pride didn't want to let them know that I was interested in things they were interested in.

So I had to settle for the realization that I would probably never get an opportunity to learn what was under that trap door. Most normal people would be completely content with never having to face a three-headed dog again. But no, not me. My curiosity almost always gets the better of me.

You know what else gets the better of me? My lack of the ability to think before I speak. For example:

It was morning, and I was enjoying eggs and bacon, because bacon was a rarity in my house. (My parents didn't believe in having junk food and disgustingly unhealthy food in the house. Maybe that's why I'm so skinny.) The owls arrived, delivering a flood of mail. I never expected anything to arrive for me; my parents sent me a letter every other week and I had gotten their most recent letter four days ago.

This morning was the same as every other: no mail for me. Harry Potter, on the other hand, received a very oddly, almost broom-shaped package. The only reason I even noticed is because...okay, I was being nosy again. Everything interesting always happens to Harry and Ron; it's so unfair.

They took the package and rushed out of the Great Hall, presumably to open it. Shoveling the rest of my eggs and bacon into my mouth, I grabbed a few pieces of toast and hastened after them.

I never learn. Seriously.

They were tearing off the last of the wrappings as I strolled slowly by them. They gasped and exclaimed and admired it from every angle. I snickered silently at Malfoy's dumbstruck look. I missed their conversation though because, slow as I was walking, I had gotten a little distance away.

Hermione's voice carried loud and clear though. "So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking the rules?" she said angrily. She seemed to be angry a lot. I stood at the top of the stairs, munching my toast and watching the three of them argue.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.

"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."

Hermione marched past them and almost walked into me. "Hi," I said. It was the only word I could manage to say without spitting toast crumbs all over her.

"Can you believe them?" she huffed. Oh boy. She was going to rant again. "I mean, really, they break the rules and what happens? He gets sent a broomstick! I really don't think that's fair."

"Maybe you should calm down," I suggested. I wiped the crumbs from my fingers onto my jeans. "Maybe you're overreacting a little bit."

"Overreacting? Whose side are you on?" she asked indignantly.

"No one's, really. I'm just an innocent bystander."

"And do you hear the way they talk to me!" She went on like I hadn't said anything. I sighed. Friends we might be, but she did talk a lot.

"Hermione, maybe there's a bit of truth in their words," I said without thinking. "I mean, you're super smart but you always shove it in everyone's faces. And you're always up about not breaking the rules. I mean, come on! Rules are made to be broken! Lighten up, have some fun while you're here!" I grinned.

"Well, if that's what you think, why don't you be friends with them?" she positively shrieked at me. She glared at me and then flounced off.

I sighed. Maybe I should've gone to school in Salem after all.

* * *

**End note:** I'm not promising anything about when chapter five will be up. Let's think positive! Two weeks, at the most. Until then, enjoy your lazy summer days. Or work-filled summer days. Whichever you're experiencing.


	5. Trick or Treat

**Author's Note:** I'm holding a shield right now, to protect myself from any missiles that you're preparing to throw at me. Actually, I deserve it. I'm ready. Throw your best.

But in all seriousness, for those few people who have read my story, I'm sorry that I vanished. Again. I do that a lot. This school year has been way more stressful than I thought it would be, and I was depressed about it more often than not, and updating this story was the last thing on my mind, if it was on my mind at all. But it's summer now and I don't have a job and I need to do _something_ to keep me occupied, so I'm back. Let's see how long it lasts this time.

Please enjoy.

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**Chapter Five****: Trick or Treat**

It was official. Hermione wasn't speaking to me anymore. Being the indecisive person that I am, I couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, I didn't have to listen to her constantly ranting about things other people did wrong, but on the other hand, she was my closest friend thus far, and I missed her help with homework, though I was doing fine on my own, for the most part.

But I was also a social person by nature, so I didn't have any trouble finding new people to hang out with. I had been spending a lot of time with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan lately, who were much more lax about the rules. I hadn't had any adventures comparable with the three-headed dog one yet though.

It was Halloween now, and I was amazed time was flying so quickly by. I had been away from home for two and a half months already, and though I occasionally missed it, I was having an incredible time at school (never thought I'd find myself saying that).

Hogwarts worked a little differently from regular school in that I had no way of knowing how I was doing in my classes. I could only assume I was doing all right in everything except maybe Potions and History of Magic. Potions because Snape just seemed to hate all Gryffindors, and History of Magic because I spent more time sleeping and doodling instead of listening. And now I no longer had Hermione's notes to rely on.

But other than that, I was actually enjoying learning. If you didn't count Hermione, I was the fastest learner in most of my classes. For example, there was that time in Charms where we learned how to make things levitate. That particular class was amusing. Even more so when Hermione got partnered with Ron, because they seemed to really hate each other. Luckily, I got paired with Dean, so I at least knew we wouldn't spend the entire class arguing.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick from his perch on top of a pile of books. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick."

I idly waved my wand around, with more swishing than flicking, thinking the incantation to myself. I had my head propped up on my hand, feeling particularly lazy. Professor Flitwick let us get to it; the room filled with the noise of swishing, flicking, and mispronounced spells.

To my right, Harry was putting out the fire that Seamus had started by prodding the feather, and to my left, Hermione was lecturing Ron on the proper pronunciation of Wingardium Leviosa.

I rolled my eyes slightly when Hermione flicked her wand, said "_Wingardium Leviosa_," and made her feather levitate about four feet into the air. Professor Flitwick clapped and exclaimed happily at her success.

Not one to be shown up, I lifted my head off my hand and said, very clearly, "Wingardium Leviosa," along with the swishing and flicking of the wand. My feather rose into the air, hovering next to Hermione's.

I couldn't resist shooting a smug smirk her way. She glowered back but otherwise ignored me.

When class finally ended I shoved my way out of the classroom and into the crowded hallway, where I leaned against the wall to wait for Dean and Seamus. Harry and Ron came out first, and I heard Ron saying to Harry, "It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly."

To my great surprise, Hermione rushed out next, in tears. The sudden urge to punch Ron in the mouth came over me. "I think she heard you," Harry said.

"So?" said Ron. He looked uncomfortable. Good. In about two seconds he was going to be even more uncomfortable, with my fist in his teeth. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

"No friends? Really?" I couldn't stay silent any longer. "Who am I then, her pet?"

"I thought you guys weren't talking," Ron said, sneering at me.

"That doesn't mean we aren't friends, you good-for-nothing piece of slime." Piece of slime, really? That's what came out of my mouth. Geez.

They just stared at me and then walked away. "Americans are so weird," I heard Ron mutter.

"I heard that!" I shouted after him. Dean and Seamus came out of the classroom then and asked, "Heard what?"

"Nothing, just Ron being a complete git," I said. "I'll tell you on the way to class, let's go."

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I found Hermione in the girl's bathroom later, crying. "Hermione?" I said quietly as I walked in. The crying stopped and she came out of a stall.

"Oh, it's you," she said, sniffing.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I should hug her or not.

"I'm fine." She was glaring at me with her teary red eyes. "Go away."

"Come on, I'm sorry," I said. "I wanted to punch Ron in the mouth when he said that."

"Really, because I seem to remember you saying something similar just a few days ago."

"Well, I'm sorry. Come on, you know me, sometimes I don't think before I speak."

"Well, maybe you should."

"Hermione, come on, I'm apologizing for that!" I stamped my foot on the ground (real mature, I know). "Stop being stubborn, I'm trying to be your friend right now."

"Well, go try somewhere else!" She ran back into the stall and I stared at the door, unsure if I should kick it down or just leave her alone like she wanted. I finally left, not seeing the point of trying to comfort her if she didn't want me to.

I didn't see Hermione again for the rest of the afternoon and even though she'd ticked me off in the bathroom, I was pleased to see Ron and Harry looking uncomfortable about that. She didn't show up to the Halloween feast either. I twisted around in my seat to watch as a few stragglers came through the doors, but Hermione wasn't one of them. I bit my lip, wondering where she was. She couldn't still be in the bathroom crying, could she?

My guilt ebbed away slightly as a few thousand bats swooped around the room and the food appeared magically onto the table. I'd already bitten into a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came running in, screaming about a troll in the dungeons.

Mass panic ensued, followed by a few purple firecrackers from Professor Dumbledore, but I made sure to grab three more potatoes before we were ushered out of the Great Hall. Percy was herding us like sheep up the stairs and back to Gryffindor Tower, and I was hoping we'd be able to finish the feast up there when I saw Harry and Ron duck away from the crowd. _But why...?_

It clicked, and I looked around furtively, starting on my second potato and then racing after them. I almost ran past the corridor where they'd turned, but I heard their triumphant sounding voices.

"Hey!" I whispered loudly.

They turned and Ron's face turned murderous. "Have you found Hermione?" I asked, ruining Ron's opportunity to sneer and say something insulting.

"What's with the potatoes?" Harry asked.

"I was hungry. Answer my question."

"No, but we just locked the troll in that bathroom." Ron still looked like he wanted to take one of my potatoes and hit me with it. I bit into the third one and almost choked when there was a sudden high-pitched scream. It was coming from the bathroom.

"YOU LOCKED THE TROLL IN THE BATHROOM WITH HERMIONE?" I shouted, racing to the door and fumbling with they key, even more so when Ron and Harry also tried to help unlock the door.

The three of us tumbled into the bathroom to see Hermione looking faint against the far wall.

"What do we do!" I yelled.

"Confuse it!" Harry shouted. Why was there so much yelling going on? He threw a tap against the wall. I threw one of my precious potatoes at the troll, somehow managing to hit it square on the head.

This must've been the most dysfunctional battle ever, with Ron throwing a metal pipe and me throwing my other potato; the troll couldn't decide which of us to go for; Harry was trying to get Hermione towards the door but she wasn't moving.

All our voices echoing off the walls seemed to be driving the troll mad and it lumbered toward Ron; Hermione was sitting on the floor, shaking and terrified. Harry leaped onto the troll's back and got his wand stuck up the troll's nose. I was torn between laughing and doing something useful; of course, my definition of "useful" was to try and grab the troll's club with my bare hands, because, you know, the strength of a tiny eleven year old girl was definitely going to hamper the troll's potential blows.

It caught me hard in the stomach and I was lifted off my feet; I hung onto the club, swinging around in the air (I managed to kick the troll in the face once, but I don't think my small foot did any lasting damage) and screaming at Ron to do something; Harry was shouting likewise. Hermione, who would probably have been the most useful person in this situation, was still cowering on the floor.

Ron whipped his wand out and cried out, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The club, and me, rose into the air. I let go and dropped to the floor, cursing as I hit the floor a little painfully. The club rose a few more feet and then dropped onto the troll's head. It swayed and I rolled away, shrieking, as it landed right where I had just been.

The four of us stared in silent shock at the dead or unconscious troll. "Is it dead?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think so," said Harry. "I think it's just been knocked out."

He retrieved his wand and wiped it clean on the troll's pants.

Then Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell came bursting into the room, looking even more shocked than we had been after we'd knocked out the troll.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" she said. Her angry voice was quite scary. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

No one said anything. Ron was still holding his wand out. Harry was looking at the floor. I was still sitting on the floor, stunned from the fact that we'd knocked out a troll, and partly from my fall.

Hermione, surprisingly, spoke up. "They were looking for me."

I don't think Professor McGonagall could have been any more surprised. Hermione finally stood up. "I went looking for the troll because I—I thought I could deal with it on my own—you know, because I've read all about them."

I was even more stunned, if that were possible. _Hermione_ was lying to a teacher. Professor McGonagall, no less, the head of our house.

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ryan kicked it in the face and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

I hoped I didn't look like I was hearing this story for the first time.

McGonagall, after lecturing us, took five points from Hermione. "I'm very disappointed in you," she said. "If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

My face brightened at that. I would get to eat after all.

I stood up as McGonagall turned to us and Hermione left the bathroom. "Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

The three of us left and walked silently for two flights of stairs. Ron broke the silence. "We should have gotten more than fifteen points," he grumbled.

"You mean ten," I corrected him. "She took five from Hermione."

"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," he did admit. "Mind you, we _did_ save her."

"Maybe that wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't locked the troll in the bathroom with her," I said.

We reached the Fat Lady. "Pig snout," Harry said, and we entered the common room, where it was packed and noisy and everyone was eating and talking.

Hermione had been waiting by the door for us. There was an awkward silence as we all stared at each other, and then said, "Thanks." Ron and Harry went off to get plates, as did Hermione and I.

It kind of seemed like the four of us had just become friends.

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**End:** I feel like this was a pretty poor chapter, as I started writing it last year (seriously), and just finished it today, occasionally adding paragraphs to it over the past few months. Hopefully future chapters will improve and I hope to create some new adventures for them to go on and not just follow the book so religiously, unless you'd prefer that. Lemme know, if you will, and I will be back soon.


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